Wireless networks enable the transmission of voice, data, and other information from one point to another without the use of wires. A common type of wireless network is a cellular network in which each of a number of transceivers (referred to herein as a “base station” (or “BS”)) provides network coverage within a cell, that is, within a portion of the network, surrounding the base station. The network is made up of multiple adjoining or overlapping cells. A wireless communications device (referred to herein as a “mobile station” (or “MS”)) located (temporarily) in a network cell establishes a communications link with the cell's base station and thereby gains access to voice and/or other data being transmitted across the network. Examples of mobile stations include devices such as smartphones or other cellular telephone handsets, mobile computers such as laptops and notebooks, or the like.
When a mobile station enters the network, or when it approaches a cell edge, a decision must be made regarding the proper base station/network cell with which to associate the mobile station. The association between mobile station and base station/network cell has traditionally been based on the point of view of the mobile station: when the MS first enters the network, it scans the signal strength from the neighboring base stations and determines the signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) for each. Then, from Shannon's capacity theorem, the achievable spectral efficiency is computed as r=log2(1+SINR). The mobile station then selects the base station with which the highest spectral efficiency is achievable and an association is formed with that base station.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the discussion of the described embodiments of the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements, while similar reference numerals may, but do not necessarily, denote similar elements.
The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Similarly, if a method is described herein as comprising a series of steps, the order of such steps as presented herein is not necessarily the only order in which such steps may be performed, and certain of the stated steps may possibly be omitted and/or certain other steps not described herein may possibly be added to the method. Furthermore, the terms “comprise,” “include,” “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as directly or indirectly connected in an electrical or non-electrical manner. Objects described herein as being “adjacent to” each other may be in physical contact with each other, in close proximity to each other, or in the same general region or area as each other, as appropriate for the context in which the phrase is used. Occurrences of the phrase “in one embodiment” herein do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.